Daughter of Deliverance (32 page)

Instantly she knew what to say, thrilled with a great joy that God was speaking through her.

“I've been studying one of the songs Moses gave to his people. He said, ‘You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.'”

The words seemed to cut through Ardon like a knife, but Rahab added quickly, “He knows our sins, but even so Moses prayed, ‘Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.'” She continued quoting the joyful song of Moses that she had committed to her heart and finally said, “Don't you see, Ardon? Moses was a man, and he must have known sin or he could not have prayed like this. But God forgave him, and He will forgive you. Just call out to Him and ask Him. Tell Him that you have sinned. You're not going to surprise Him. He already knows, but you will make Him happy, I think.”

“What do you mean, Rahab?”

“I think God knows great joy when we bring Him our sins and beg for forgiveness.”

Ardon stared at her for a moment and then began to cry out to God. Great tears ran down his cheeks, and Rahab sat beside him silently. He held her hand tightly, and finally he began to grow quieter. When he was absolutely still, Rahab leaned to look into his face. “You have done all a man can do. Do you feel that God has forgiven you?”

“Yes. I know now the peace that you have felt.” He turned to face her. “But I have wronged you dreadfully.”

Rahab shook her head. “That's all in the past. Let us look to the future. God has forgiven you. Now there is no guilt. It has gone away. Never think of it again except to give thanks to God for what He has done!”

“It's so good to have you home, Father.”

Caleb turned and smiled down at Ariel. “It is good to be home. It seems like life has become just one battle after another.” Indeed, that was true, for the children of Israel were moving from one Canaanite kingdom to another. God seemed to be striking their enemies so that oftentimes they fled out of pure fear. True enough there were other enemies to conquer, but Caleb said now, “I know it seems like the battles will never be over, but they will be one day. This is truly the land of promise.”

“The land of milk and honey, Moses called it.”

“That's what the Lord called it.” Caleb nodded. “And it is a good land.”

The two were walking through the tents of the tribe of Judah, and almost every family had a man in the army. Many of them spoke to Caleb, and there was an air of happy expectancy among the people.

Othniel appeared from over to Caleb's left, and he called to him. “Nephew, come here, will you?”

Othniel came at once. He gave Ariel a quick glance and then turned to Caleb. “Yes, sir?”

“I just wanted to ask how the men seemed. Are you satisfied with them?”

Caleb and Joshua had agreed to make Othniel a commander in the army of Judah. He had proven to be a man worthy of their trust, for time and again in the battles he had distinguished himself by his personal courage and by his astute use of troops.

Othniel smiled briefly. “They're ready for the next battle whenever you lead us, sir.”

“Fine, fine. Now, walk along with us here.”

“Really, sir, with your permission, there are some things I need to do.”

Caleb was surprised but nodded. “Well, I'm sure you're busy getting ready for the next battle. I just wanted to tell you how pleased Joshua is with you.”

“That's good to hear. I'll see you later.”

“That was strange,” Caleb murmured. “He seemed almost embarrassed.” He turned to Ariel. “You two haven't been having another one of your fights, have you?”

“No, sir, of course not.”

“Well, I should think not. After all, he was the one primarily responsible for getting you back from those villains. I owe him a debt of gratitude forever for that.”

“He…he doesn't seem to be the same man.”

“Well, of course not. He's not a boy any longer. Don't tell anyone I said this, but Joshua and I aren't getting any younger. Sooner or later we're going to have to step aside. And, you know, I think that young fellow might be just the fellow to lead Israel.”

Ariel turned to stare at her father. “You really mean that, sir?”

“Well, he had a bad beginning, but he's become a leader of men. And his attitude toward Jehovah is good now. I was a little worried about that.” He suddenly asked, “Why doesn't he come around anymore? You two used to do all sorts of things together. I think you must be having some kind of an argument.”

“Not really.” Othniel had indeed stayed away from Ariel during those times when the troops were not in battle. Ariel had tried desperately to find some way to express her gratitude to him, but he seemed so distant and did not seek her out as he once had. “He's just too busy for a woman, I suppose.”

Caleb was caught by this. He studied his daughter's face and saw that she was not as filled with joy as he was accustomed. “You seem to be troubled, Ariel. Anything you can tell me?”

Ariel forced herself to smile. “No, I'll be all right.”

Caleb wanted to say more, but she turned and began talking of other matters.
Something has gone wrong between those two,
he thought.
That's a shame
.

****

The three figures outlined against the blue sky were of differing height. Ardon was the tallest, between the other two, with Rahab on his right and Oman on his left. They were laughing and talking as they walked through the knee-high grass. Oman was holding on to Ardon's hand, tugging at him and shouting, “Hurry up, Ardon!”

“I'm coming as fast as I can. You've got to be careful with an old man,” Ardon said, grinning. He glanced over at Rahab, who was watching the two of them with a smile. “Beautiful day for shepherds.”

“Yes. Good for the sheep too.” She glanced ahead to where her small flock was ambling along, headed for the stream. They were stupid animals, but they had at least learned where the stream was. Now they paused long enough to nibble at the tender spring grass, and she murmured, “They're such beautiful creatures.”

“Beautiful. I've never called them that,” Ardon said, laughing. “And they have less sense than any creature I've ever seen.”

“You like to eat them, though,” Oman piped up.

“Right enough, Oman. Let's eat one tonight.” He winked at the boy, knowing that Rahab was tenderhearted when it came to her animals. “Which one do you want to butcher, Rahab?”

“I don't want to talk about it. We don't need any more meat, anyhow,” she said stiffly.

Ardon laughed. “Come on, Oman. I'll race you to the stream.”

Rahab watched as the two made for the stream. Ardon was shortening his steps and her nephew was running for all he was worth. It gave her a warm feeling to think about how the two of them had become such friends.

Ardon had become a new man after his meeting with Jehovah. Very few days went by without Rahab thinking of that time when he had called on God and confessed his sin. She had been expecting that Ardon would never mention it again, but he did quite often. He had not told anyone else that she knew, but many times he had remarked to her, “It was the most wonderful moment of my life, Rahab, when I did as you said and confessed my sin to God. It was like I had a huge boulder on my shoulders and it rolled off and I could stand up like a man again. He seemed to delight in telling her about this, and he also was quick to tell her how much he owed her. “I can never repay you,” he often said.

But Rahab would never take credit, saying, “It was all God's doing.”

The three reached the stream, and Ardon brought out the string and fishhooks. As Rahab watched the sheep from a slight hillock, Ardon and Oman began to fish. The sound of their voices came to her clearly, and Rahab once again marveled over the wonderful change in Ardon.

The morning passed, and the two caught several fish, but finally Oman grew sleepy. He curled up in a ball and fell asleep almost instantly. Ardon sat beside him for a while; then he turned and came over to stand beside Rahab. “I'm afraid I wore the fisherman out.” He smiled.

“It does me good to see him have such pleasure. You're so good for him, Ardon.”

“Well, he's good for me too.” He glanced down at the sleeping form and smiled. “Someday I'd like to have half a dozen boys just like that one.”

“All at once?” She smiled at him mischievously. “That would be hard on your wife.”

“Well, not all at once, of course.” He saw that she was teasing him and laughed. “One at a time.”

The two stood there, and a feeling of peace lay upon them. The clouds drifted overhead silently. From far off there came the whistle of a shepherd signaling to his sheep. The breeze was warm, and finally she said, “I wish it could always be like this and you didn't have to go to war anymore.”

“That day will come, but it may be a while.”

“Isn't it amazing how God has led our people to this land and given it to them? I think so often how He promised it to Abraham, and Abraham had no idea that this would all happen.”

“He was such a man of faith. I admire him greatly,” Ardon said.

The two began to walk around, idly keeping their eye on Oman as he slept, but finally Ardon said, “You know. I've been worried about my sister.”

“I'm so glad you got her back from the enemy. It was a miracle she escaped unharmed.”

“Yes, but she hasn't been the same since then. I don't know what's wrong with her. She was always such a happy girl, and now her face is long. She hardly ever laughs.”

Rahab said, “I think she found out something about herself during that time.”

Ardon turned to face her. “Like what?”

“She had always had her own way and everything in life had been easy for her, and suddenly she was faced with either a terrible death or slavery. She found out that we can lose everything that we treasure in a moment.”

“You think that's what's happening to her? But why would it make her so glum and unhappy?”

Rahab had an idea of what was happening to Ardon's sister, but she did not feel it was her place to speak of it. “We'll just have to pray that she'll get over it.”

The two were quiet for a time, and finally he said, “Let's sit down here.” He sat and Rahab sat closely beside him. He was quiet for a while, and she said, “You're not saying much, Ardon. Is something wrong?”

“I think there might be.”

“But you're doing so well. Your wounds are healed. Your father's so happy with you. You're on your way to becoming a leader in Israel. What's wrong?”

He turned to her and studied her face. The light was kind to her. He studied her eyes, which were widely spaced and colored a deep violet that seemed to have no bottom. They were still the most unusual eyes he had ever seen. He said in a guarded tone, “I'm wondering if you could ever forget about what I did.”

“What do you mean, Ardon?”

“The sin I committed with that woman.”

“You must put that out of your mind, Ardon,” she said warmly. “I have.”

“Have you really?”

“Of course. Let me tell you what I do. Sometimes thoughts of things in the past that I did come to me, but I keep a little box—oh, not a real box, of course. Just a box that I make up. When those thoughts come, I open the box and I put them in and I shut the lid and I say, ‘I repented of that, and I've made the sacrifice. I saw the lamb that died and the priest that sprinkled the blood on the altar and that prayed for the sins to be gone. It's all over.' You have to think like that, Ardon.”

Ardon was quiet for a time, and then he said, “I might as well confess something else to you. Another wrong.”

Rahab turned to face him fully. He looked handsome and tanned and fit as he sat there. His body didn't have an ounce of surplus flesh. She knew the young women of Israel eyed him often, and he had turned down innumerable opportunities to take a wife. “I can't think of what that would be.”

“Well, I've always felt that you were a beautiful and desirable woman. That's why I was so cold to you for so long, Rahab. I felt desire for you. And I guess I have to ask you to forgive me for that.”

“To forgive you for being a man?” She smiled. “Don't you know that I have felt the same way toward you?”

Her words shocked Ardon. “You have?”

“Of course. There's a fine line between being attracted to a person and engaging in lustful thoughts. I admit it's hard to keep these thoughts in their proper place, but I was drawn to you from the moment you came into our house.”

An intense quiet seemed to surround the two. Ardon could not move for a time, but then he smiled. He took her hand in his and said, “I owe you everything, Rahab.”

Rahab met his glance and saw something in his eyes that only a woman can see. She put her hand on his cheek and said, “I've always cared for you, Ardon.”

He reached out and pulled her close, kissing her on the lips. She leaned against him, and he held her tightly. “Then, let's start right where we are and forget the past.”

“Yes. We don't know what the future holds, but we have today.”

“I want you for my wife, Rahab.”

She hesitated, and he leaned back to look in her face. “What's wrong? Don't you want me for a husband?”

“People will talk. They know my past.”

“Let them talk,” he said, leaping up and pulling her to her feet. “Let them say all they want to. I want to marry
you,
not them.” He grabbed her, swept her off her feet, and swung her around, laughing as she cried out in delight.

“Why are you hugging her, Ardon?”

Ardon stopped and lowered Rahab until she stood on her own feet. They both turned to see Oman standing there. “Because she's pretty and sweet, that's why.”